Walmart gives shopping agents separate profiles and spending permissions
Walmart is opening a dedicated connection for AI shopping agents, with profiles that separate their purchases from a customer's own activity. Customers can require approval for each transaction or set a spending limit. The retailer plans to roll out profiles next month and says agents will receive only the information needed for the task, while account holders retain control over access.
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Agent purchases get their own place in the account
Walmart is preparing to let customers connect AI agents that search for products and make purchases on their behalf. The retailer's Agent Gateway provides a dedicated route into its services, while Agent Profiles will give each connected agent its own place inside a customer's account. The planned profile rollout begins next month and also covers shopping at Sam's Club.[1], [2]
A shopper will be able to see the agent's purchases separately from their own. The default setting requires approval for every transaction. Customers can instead authorize purchases up to a budget they choose, allowing them to decide how much discretion to give the software. They can turn off an agent or delete its profile whenever they wish.[1], [2]
The gateway connects agents to products
The gateway uses MCP, a standard for connecting agents to outside tools and information. That gives approved software a connection to Walmart's inventory and shopping services rather than relying on browser navigation. A profile is created when a customer first shops with a particular agent through the gateway; the customer then links it to the account and sets permissions.[1], [2]
Walmart says it can help an agent find the shopper's usual bread or milk brand without handing over the wider purchase history. The company presents access to relevant products and access to personal information as separate parts of the design. Its terms restrict an agent to the information needed for the assigned task and prohibit changing the customer's payment method.[1], [2]
Walmart sets terms for access and returns
The retailer says agents must stay within the shopper's intention and that noncompliant software will lose access. Its ordinary returns process will apply if an agent buys an unwanted item. John Furner, Walmart's president and chief executive, discussed the plan at the Masters of Scale Summit in San Francisco. Customers will retain the choice of keeping an agent connected and the authority they give it for future purchases.[1]
The access policy differs from Amazon's approach: Amazon keeps Perplexity's shopping agent and Meta's Muse assistant off its site. Walmart already has a relationship with Muse and connections involving ChatGPT and Gemini. Its new announcement adds account-level identification and customer-set purchase permissions to the way agents will shop through the retailer's services.[1], [2]
